MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Local leaders are planning a community walk against violence this weekend in Soulsville.
This event is coming on the heels of another record year of violence in the city of Memphis.
Organizers said this is not a just another walk but a movement. They believe if they’re able to reach one person then it will be worth it.
Saturday, dozens will fill the streets of Soulsville calling for an end to the violence.
“Let’s keep walking, let’s walk, walk until enough is enough and we put the guns down and our babies live,” Stevie Moore said, Founder of FFUN (Freedom from Unnecessary Negatives)
Last year, a record of 346 people were killed in the city of Memphis, leaving hundreds of families in mourning.
“We put these walks on to remember the victims, the victims who have already lost their lives, we put these walk on to hug and to walk by and introduce ourselves to the mothers and fathers,” Shelby County Attorney General Amy Weirich said.
The event is being hosted by the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office and other organizations like Freedom From Unnecessary Negatives. Founder Stevie Moore has done several events like this over the years.
“I don’t know if this walk doing any good but when I think about Doctor King, he didn’t stop walking y’all. He kept waking till they heard him, and change came and change came cause he refused to stop,” Moore said.
Organizers are hoping the walk will inspire folks to take an active role in their community by joining neighborhood watch groups and foster relationships with law enforcement.
“We’re fed up with gun crime, we absolutely are and the call to action is to participate to do something,” Memphis Police Asst. Chief Don Crowe said.
The walk starts Saturday morning at 10:00 at Metropolitan Baptist Church.